The Interference: Across Time and Space
by Newbie-Spud
Summary: The past is no longer safe from the ripple effects of the Interference. Different people in different worlds and different times are being visited by the same mysterious strangers. And all the clues lead back, across time and space, to Alexander Karsath.
1. Aqua

**The Interference: Across Time and Space**

Part 1  
Aqua

_Aqua._

_Yes?_

_Now that you are a Master, there is one secret in particular you must know._

Aqua carried Ventus on her back through the dark ruins of The Land of Departure. Ventus was limp, his heart asleep and barely aware enough to send them here. Terra was nowhere to be found. Master Eraqus...

_Should anything happen to me, and you find the legion of darkness at our doorstep... I ask that you take my Keyblade and use it to lock this land away._

_What?_

The throne room of the castle. Aqua seated Ventus on the central chair. His expression was, surprisingly, one of contentment – which was very Ventus, Aqua thought. His face seemed to say, "Yeah, things are tough right now, but there's still hope. All is not lost; far from it."

_Generations of Keyblade Masters have been charged with keeping this land safe. Light and darkness exist in balance here, and there are those who would abuse such neutral ground. This is why our predecessors devised a certain... trick._

Aqua picked up Master Eraqus's black Keyblade, the Master Keeper, and walked around to the back of the thrones. There was a hidden Keyhole embedded in the back of the central throne. She'd walked back here a hundred times and never seen it. But now that she knew about its existence, it was as clear as day, shining even in the dim light of the dark castle.

_Just use the key, and this land will be transformed. From that day forward, all who visit this land will be lost to oblivion, none ever able to solve the mystery. None, Aqua, except you._

It was perfect, then. Ventus probably picked this place because it was home, but Aqua could make sure that no one would find him... until Aqua found his sleeping heart.

Aqua thrust the Keyblade toward the Keyhole, shooting a beam of light straight into the magical gateway. The entire room was engulfed in a white light.

When the light faded, the room had changed. Instead of a dark crumbling castle, the room was an immaculate, brightly lit white. There was only one chair now, the one Ventus sat upon, and glowing chains ran along the floor and the walls from that chair.

It looked lonely, utterly empty save for its sole occupant, but it would be safe. And once she found Terra, they could start looking for Ventus's heart, and they'd be back to wake him up before he knew it.

"Perfect."

Aqua froze. An unfamiliar voice was in the room.

She stepped to the side and saw a strange figure wearing a black cloak, its back to her. The voice sounded like it belonged to a young man.

Whoever it was, he was holding a golden spaulder and a Keyblade.

Aqua looked down at Ventus. His Keyblade and Keyblade Armor were suddenly missing.

Aqua looked back up at the figure just in time to see the stranger look back over his shoulder. Beneath the hood was nothing but more blackness. That was all Aqua got to see before he was running for the door.

"Wait!" Aqua shouted, brandishing her former Master's weapon.

The stranger blinked out of existence. Then, a second later, he reappeared a little further towards the door, still running.

Aqua gave chase.

* * *

With the mysterious stranger's repeated blinking out of existence, he managed to elude Aqua all the way out of the newly transformed castle. The cloaked figure burst out the front doors of the castle, with Aqua close behind.

Beyond it was a path of earth floating in an abyss, and then nothing. There was nowhere else to run.

"STOP!" Aqua screamed, and the stranger did. He did not turn to face her.

She stepped closer, holding her Master Keeper Keyblade at the ready. "I am Master Aqua," she declared. "Return my friend's belongings... or pay the price."

The stranger didn't respond, so she took another step closer. Then she heard a sound, like two hands clapping. Then there was a flash; red light and electricity danced around the figure, obscuring him completely.

"I know who you are, Aqua."

The figure turned around, now _wearing Ventus's armor_.

"I just don't give a damn."

The Keyblade Master unconsciously lowered her weapon a bit, so shocked was she. "What... what in the world?"

"Oh, don't worry," the newly armored stranger said calmly, testing the weight of Ventus's Keyblade in his hand. "I only plan to borrow it."

Still faltering, Aqua said, "But that's impossible. A Keyblade is bound to its chosen. They're impossible to steal!"

"Wrong, actually!" the mysterious figure replied. "They're _very difficult_ to steal. It's much easier if you can perform alchemy. But it also helps immensely if the original owner is currently a **vegetable**."

Aqua let out a cry of rage and twirled the Keyblade once. Three great bolts of lightning shot down from the sky and struck the ground around the stranger in a triangular formation.

"You'll give back my friend's armor and Keyblade, or I'll take them from you," Aqua stated menacingly.

The stranger chuckled, barely fazed by Aqua's intimidation attempt. "Sorry. I'm afraid I can't do that. No, it's physically impossible for me to do that now..."

The mysterious figure reached up to the helmet of Ventus's armor and lifted it off his head. This time, Aqua lowered her weapon entirely and took a reflexive step back. _Ventus's face stared back at her._ It was a perfect recreation, except for the eyes, which were strangely... reptilian. The slit irises stood out against the grinning face of her friend.

"This armor and Keyblade are a part of me now," the Ventus clone explained, "and I am a part of them. I take off this armor, I die." A hard look suddenly came over the fake-Ventus's features. "And I have come _too far_ to let that happen."

Aqua could only ask one question at that moment. "Who are you?"

The Ventus clone grinned and put the helmet back on. "Call me Kronos."

A short silence followed, where Aqua couldn't think of anything to say. This was the second time in as many hours that she was forced to stare into the face of her friend as an enemy. First Vanitas, now this...

"Aw, don't look so mad," Kronos said in a reassuring tone that was anything but. "I care nothing for Xehanort's χ-blade or your friend's broken little heart. All I want is the power to enact my revenge."

"Revenge on what?" Aqua muttered. She hardly cared, but she figured she could get the upper hand if she caught him off-guard while monologuing.

Ventus looked out into the abyss beyond the floating isle. "About 11 years from now, a boy named _Alexander _is going to come into these worlds and change everything. He's the one responsible for destroying the timeline where I was born, erasing everyone who ever lived there."

Kronos looked back at Aqua. Even through the face-mask, Aqua could feel the hatred coming from him. "I _will_ make him pay. You will not stop me."

Aqua, at last, steeled herself and readied for combat. "Even if that's true, this isn't the way. Justice shouldn't start with evil acts like this. And vengeance will only drag you down into the darkness and destroy you both." She'd seen it happen not too long ago.

"Oh, believe me, that's the idea," Kronos replied smugly. Out of nowhere, Kronos's right arm crackled with red light. "Whoops, that's my cue!"

Kronos turned around and held out his hand. Red light shot out of his hand and seemed to stab into the air, creating ripples that became a dark, crimson opening in space. It was unlike any portal Aqua had ever seen, and its very presence felt unnatural, like it didn't belong in this universe at all.

"Time for me to go," Kronos said simply, moving to enter the portal.

Aqua quickly ran after him. Kronos wouldn't escape so easily, not when she could simply follow him through the portal!

"I'd reconsider following me, Aqua," Kronos said, stopping just in front of the dark gateway. Aqua came to a halt, realizing that the stranger's guard was still up. "This gateway," Kronos went on, "leads to 11 years in the future. But right now, your friend Terra, or rather _Terranort_, is getting ready to terrorize Radiant Garden. Now, if you disappear from history for 11 years, who do you think is going to stop him? The fallout would be bad for the worlds, certainly, but more importantly... that would be a _paradox_."

Aqua's conviction only faltered a little. So far, she only had this thief's word that time travel was even _possible_, let alone happening right now. But all this stranger's knowledge was starting to unnerve her.

How could he know where Ventus would be hidden _before_ she triggered the Land of Departure's trick? How could he know about what happened to Terra at the Keyblade Graveyard? If she went to Radiant Garden right now, would she really find Terra's body and Xehanort's heart? If that was the case, how could she possibly choose one friend over the other? And if everything Kronos said was true... what would happen if she made the _wrong_ choice?

"Sorry," Kronos apologized sarcastically, disappearing into the portal. "You can't be in two places at once."

Kronos was gone, but the portal lingered, as if taunting Aqua for her indecision.

Aqua was overcome with dread. Was this it, then? Was she going to have to let Kronos go with her friend's prized possessions, as well as his very identity?

A strange warping sound from the side interrupted Aqua's thoughts, forcing her to turn to face it. Another portal was appearing, this one with swirls of green instead of red. This one didn't feel quite as awful as the other one – its very presence felt _strange_, but not downright _wrong_ like Kronos's portal.

When the portal reached its full size, something stepped out... and Aqua nearly screamed, scrambling away from what she was seeing.

"It's okay, it's okay!" her mirror image said quickly. "I'm you, from the future."

This Aqua looked the same as her in absolutely every respect. Even the eyes were the same. That didn't make her any less _shocked_ by what she was seeing. Seeing a clone of your friend _twice in one day_ was one thing. Seeing a clone of yourself was yet another thing.

"There's not much time to explain," the other Aqua said. Then she paused. "Wow, this is weird. I remember being you, hearing me say the things I'm saying right now..." She shook her head and got back to business. "Look. Time travel is possible. You can go after him without causing a paradox, as long as you come back here to this exact place and time once you're done. It's something called a 'stable time loop.'"

Aqua tried her best to steady herself, looking between the red portal and her clone. So confused was she, she couldn't help but wonder if this was another trick, another deception caused by some other malevolent spirit like Kronos.

The other Aqua reached into her inventory and pulled out a spaulder and a Keyblade. They were Ventus's, exactly the ones Kronos had just absconded with. "You go and get his Keyblade and armor back. I'll return these to him, and then go after Terra to make sure history doesn't change."

Aqua looked down at the Keyblade and back up into her own eyes. "This..." she mumbled, finally speaking. "This is... really happening."

The other Aqua – Future Aqua – smiled and nodded in response.

The red portal crackled and shrunk a little bit.

"You have to go," Future Aqua said sternly. "It's going to be crazy at first, but just find Alexander. He'll guide you from there."

"Okay," Present Aqua barely whispered. She stared into the portal, the gateway to an insane new adventure that she barely understood.

"Go!" her future self ordered.

With all the blind determination of a base jumper, Aqua jumped into the red portal. She was instantly swept up in the swirling tide of red energy, carrying her forward into the future.

Where this path led, she didn't know. But she had a purpose. And a name.

Alexander.


	2. Lucca

Part 2  
Lucca

_"Will you come back?"_

_"Don't worry. We're together in this. We'll meet again."_

It had been a few days since Alexander, Edward, and Alphonse left their world, the world of Chrono Trigger. Lucca was in her home-slash-laboratory, thinking – as she was wont to do.

The following days after the end of their whirlwind, time-traveling adventure were an ordeal in and of themselves. With their exploits pretty much common knowledge in the final days of the Millenial Fair, the present-day group of Crono, Lucca, and Nadia were celebrities and renowned heroes. Interviews were conducted, accolades were received, and historians puzzled over their history books to find all the meddling that was suddenly obvious in hindsight.

Crono and Nadia's relationship became more or less official, though Nadia's father – the King – was a bit more hesitant after their hazardous balloon ride through the sky. But regardless, Crono spent most of his time with Nadia now, either at the castle or exploring elsewhere. Nadia seemed to be already suffering from wanderlust so soon after their adventure, but Crono was content to let life slow down for a little bit.

The same went for Lucca, more or less. She was very happy that her invention had helped them bring peace to the future, as well as improve the present. Besides defeating Lavos across all times and removing the Black Void from the sky, the southern forest was probably the third greatest accomplishment of their entire adventure.

The second greatest accomplishment, in Lucca's mind, was restoring her mother's ability to walk. To be given the chance to go back in time and correct the most traumatizing experience of her young life... It felt like the heart of the world – the Entity, as they had discussed one night – had rewarded her for her hard work.

But thinking about her mother also brought her mind back to Alexander. Her... kind of boyfriend. Well, he was only 15, but...

The romantic attraction was unusual, to be sure. In all honesty, Alexander had kind of manipulated her into it, since he already knew about her mother's accident ten years ago. Between that and all of their adventures, Alex had forced them – all of them – to rely on him in every way.

Losing Alexander to Lavos had been a terrible blow, partly because they'd lost their main guide and fighter of Heartless, but also because it made everyone realize how much Alexander meant to them. The stranger from another world, one who claimed to know everything about them, had managed to make himself irreplacable. When he died, his role in their group became more obvious through the gap he'd left behind.

In truth, Lucca's relationship with Alex only solidified after he'd been revived by using the Chrono Trigger. After that, Alex became just a little bit more humble, a little bit more aware of the effects his actions have on others. He'd _deserved_ the two punches to the face she and Ed gave him, but after that he started to gradually improve. He became a bit more caring and a bit less controlling, and Lucca recognized that.

It was only a tiny improvement, to be honest. It wasn't like he was suddenly an understanding, amazing person overnight, but what do you want? He was barely 15. Baby steps were needed here.

Ultimately, Alex was definitely someone Lucca would want at her back, and perhaps even the kind of life partner she could be with forever. She wasn't 100% sure yet, but she was willing to keep going and find out. They had time now.

Of course, she'd have to wait until Alexander got back to her. He still had more of Ansem's apprentices to hunt down, and apparently he didn't want to trouble the Chrono Trigger and Fullmetal Alchemist residents any further. It was all well and good the way Alex explained it a few days ago, but Lucca couldn't help but worry now. What if Alex died? Would she even ever find out? There were other worlds out there, worlds full of adventure, and they couldn't reach each other!

With that thought in mind, Lucca adjusted her glasses and looked around at the pile of metal junk in her lab. To the untrained eye, there was nothing of value in the room, but to Lucca, there was a potential spaceship waiting to be made.

* * *

After a morning and early-afternoon's worth of tinkering, Lucca decided to take a break. With the Millennial Fair closing down, the town square wasn't really much of an off-time option, so Lucca decided to hike down to the forest shrine. Taking the time to explore the (technically) new forest, as well as honor the memory of her departed future friend Robo, seemed like a good way to distance herself from her research for a while.

The day was bright and sunny, but the forest surrounding the road was thick and dark. Despite this, Lucca took a bit of a detour off the main road. Very little light penetrated the treetops, but what did came down in beautiful little rays, giving the forest an air of tranquility and peace. It was almost impossible to think that this had all been a barren desert 400 years ago, and a sparse collection of villages in another timeline.

Lucca leaned against a particularly large tree, just taking in the air and the sounds of nature around her. Moments like this, knowing what it took to make it all happen, made their entire grueling adventure worth it.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Lucca jumped a little in surprise. She peeked around the trunk of the tree to look for the source of the noise. On the opposite side of the tree and a good distance away, there was a small clearing of the trees where sunlight shone down in full.

In that clearing, three fully armored figures stood. There was a tall, bulky one in red and gold armor, another tall one with blue and gray armor, and a shorter one with gray and gold armor. They all had full helmets that completely covered their faces, but that didn't seem to affect their sight at all. The one in red was pacing around the clearing in a panic.

"Where is she, Kronos?" the red-armored stranger demanded with a gruff male voice. "We have to know!"

"Are you sure this is the right point in time?" the tall blue one suggested, this one a calm female voice. "She could have-"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" the short one, apparently Kronos, responded in a petulant male voice. "She doesn't appear here at all, ever! Not in the future, not in the past, not anywhere or any time at all!"

The figure in red fell to his knees and... started crying. Like full-on sobbing.

The blue one looked at Kronos. "Even with these armors, we're still on borrowed time. If we don't find that clone..."

"I know, Themis, I know!" Kronos shouted back. "Just... give me a second to think!"

Silence fell upon the clearing, save for the red one's crying. Lucca had the sense to hide behind the tree before one of them noticed her. She wasn't sure who these people were or why they were here, but it probably had something to do with their time travel adventures. And that's what she was afraid of, really: The possibility that someone might travel back and undo everything they'd worked so hard to change, or take revenge for the timeline they'd aborted.

Lucca checked her hip, and let out a quiet breath of relief. She'd remembered to bring her Wondershot with her. All that work to collect and utilize the Sun Stone was suddenly paying off more than ever. If these people were dangerous, and they attacked her, she would be able to defend herself quite well.

Kronos slapped a hand onto his helmeted face. "Oh, of course. Sister went to another _world_."

The red figure stopped crying and looked up. Kronos walked over to him and helped him to his feet. "Pull yourself together, Hyperion. All we have to do is find the world she sent herself to."

"But..." Hyperion mumbled pathetically, "but there's a lot of worlds."

"We can narrow it down," Themis pointed out. "For instance, it can't be Haven."

Kronos clenched a fist. "The world Alexander's on RIGHT NOW."

"But a world that didn't exist when our Sister cloned herself," Themis added. "So she can't be there."

"Tch, fine," Kronos muttered, more than a little disappointed by the logic. "How about the real world, then? Alexander's bloody homeworld." He raised up his fist and stared at it meaningfully. "I'd _love_ to pay that world a visit..."

Themis shook her helmeted head. "Not even Sister's power could break through that barrier. We'd likely destroy ourselves trying to get there, anyway."

Kronos growled, but left it at that. "So that leaves one of the Keybladers' worlds, or..." The armored figure trailed off. "The Elric brothers' world. Amestris. The world of alchemy."

"That... that would make sense," Hyperion declared, having finally collected himself. "Maybe she thought she could get away by... following _them_ back to their world."

"It's our best shot," Kronos realized aloud. "So it's settled. We'll search for her on Amestris."

"You're not going ANYWHERE!"

A small fireball flew into the center of the clearing and exploded in a great incendiary storm, wreathing the three armored figures in flames. The clearing, miraculously, only suffered a few small embers here and there, causing a meager amount of smoke to trail up into the blue sky above. When the magical fire cleared, the trio seemed to be mostly fine, but they had obviously taken some damage from the attack.

The fireball had come from a woman with blue hair, wielding a black Keyblade. She slowly stepped towards the trio, keeping her weapon trained on them. All three strangers took a reflexive half-step backwards as she entered the clearing, and the woman took notice of this. "What's wrong, 'Kronos'?" she asked. "Didn't expect me to follow you?"

Themis looked to Kronos. "Brother, did you leave the portal open longer than you should have?"

Hyperion also shot a look at the shorter member. "Brother, she's not supposed to be here! Why isn't this causing a paradox?"

"I'm not really sure myself," Aqua interjected, smirking slightly, "but I heard something about a 'stable time loop.'"

The trio let out a collective gasp at the words. Hyperion especially seemed shaken. "That means... Brother, we're destined to-"

"Everyone, SHUT UP!" Kronos bellowed at the top of his boyish-sounding lungs. He summoned a Keyblade of his own and pointed it back at Aqua. "Time is more malleable than you know, _Master_," he muttered, spitting out the last word with sarcastic venom. "It doesn't matter what kind of future you saw – when we find our Sister, there won't be any past or present, much less a future."

That was all Lucca needed to hear.

The other two, Hyperion and Themis, also summoned Keyblades, and all three of them took fighting stances. Aqua had long noticed by this point that one of them was wearing her own armor and Keyblade. The strange woman even spoke with a voice somewhat like Aqua's – every one of them was copying the original owner almost to the letter. It was unnerving, having to fight copies of herself and her former friends, but Aqua took a stance of her own and mentally prepared herself.

"Not so fast!"

On the other side of the clearing from Aqua, Lucca stepped into view, holding the Wondershot in a ready position.

"You!" Kronos growled. The other two seemed to recognize her as well.

"Yep, me," Lucca replied, not entirely sure what Kronos meant but more than willing to antagonize him with it. "I heard more than enough to know that you're planning something evil with our timeline. Well, I'm not gonna let that happen!"

Then, unexpectedly, the sound of running footsteps steadily approached the clearing. From the side of the clearing nearest the road, two other strangers appeared. One was a man with spiky red hair, and one was a tall, dog-like creature that walked and dressed like a human adventurer.

The red-haired man looked around, trying to process what the heck was going on. Aqua, Lucca, and the armored trio seemed to be doing the same. Finally, the man settled his gaze on Themis and said, "That's her. That's the woman that was in the secret chamber!"

Goofy gasped when he saw Hyperion. "And that's the one we saw in the wasteland!"

Lea summoned his fiery chakrams, and Goofy brought out his shield. The four heroes – Aqua, Lucca, Lea, and Goofy – spread out so that they surrounded the group of armored thieves on all sides.

Standing back to back to back, Kronos, Themis, and Hyperion stood at the ready, but obviously nervous. "This might not be a fight worth having," Themis admitted aloud.

"Last chance," Aqua stated, her tone deadly serious. "Give back what you stole."

Kronos let out a guttural snarl and raised his Keyblade. "_Tornado_!"

Immediately, an incredible gale picked up around the group and buffeted the four heroes, momentarily knocking them off balance. Kronos twirled his Keyblade again and shouted, "_Holy Light_!"

A runic circle, glowing with blue light, covered the ground of the entire clearing. Orbs of trailing light flew in a circle around the area, going faster and faster, until a bright pillar of light filled the entire circle. The armored trio was unaffected, but Aqua and the rest were blown away by the sheer holy energy of the attack.

The light eventually dissipated, and the quartet had to take a moment to recover. While they were down, Kronos's right arm started to glow red and spark with crimson electricity. "Farewell!" Kronos yelled, and raised his arm to the air. "The next time you see us, we will be heralding the end of existence!"

And, in a flash of red light, they were gone. One second they were there, the next – vanished.

Aqua got to her feet and ran into the center of the clearing. "No!" She looked up and around the entire area, but could see no trace of the mysterious antagonists anywhere. Even though she was trying her best to keep calm, she couldn't help but slump a little bit at the incoming realization: "...They're gone. We lost them."

"Agh," Lea groaned, dismissing his chakrams. "That seems to be the pattern with them. Get off a few attacks and then teleport away."

Aqua rounded on Lea instantly. "You've encountered them before? Who are they? Why are they stealing Keyblades? How is that even possible?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Lea responded hastily, putting his hands up defensively. "I don't really know a whole lot more than you, miss! I mean, this whole issue is only a day or two old, at most."

Aqua reluctantly backed off, and took a moment to examine Lea a bit more closely. "...Do I know you from somewhere?"

Lea was caught off guard by the question, and wasn't sure how to answer. "Uh..."

Lucca stepped between the two of them. "Okay. I get the feeling we're all holding a piece of the puzzle here, so... How about we head back to my lab? It's a short hike from here, I have snacks, and we can spend as much time as we need to figure this out."

Aqua turned to face Lucca. "That's very kind of you..." She trailed off, waiting for a name.

The inventor adjusted her glasses. "Lucca! Inventor extraordinaire."

Lea put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Nice to meetcha. The name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

Goofy lifted his cap as a greeting. "And I'm Goofy."

"My name is Master Aqua," the Keyblade Master stated, bowing slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." With the formalities dealt with, a hard look returned to her eyes. "Now, let's figure out _exactly_ what's going on here."


End file.
